Buck 103 Skinner?

midnite-penguin

midnite-penguin

Joined
Nov 6, 2007
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244
I was just gifted one of these knives, and I don't know much about it. I searched here and youtubed it but there is surprisingly little information showing this knife in action.

I come from a bushcraft background where I abuse my cheapo Mora's , not a collector. To be honest I've never actually owned a BUCK. Are these users or just something pretty to look at? I really like the shape, I'm sure it would make a great skinner - but I don't do very much of that.

Thanks folks, glad to finally own a BUCK.
 
I believe a lot of people use these, and are regarded a excellent knife.
However i have not used it personally.
Where the blade meets the handle there will be a stamp.
Buck
103
Usa
Next to the 103 will be a symbol that is the year code.

Steve
 
The 103 is often referred to as a skinner and some people prefer it for that part of game processing.

Thinking about the knife as a more general purpose outdoors knife, I think this skinner pattern has a lot in common with the Nessmuk pattern associated with George Sears. You might think of Sears (aka Nessmuk) as the great-grandpappy of the bushcraft movement.

trio.jpg

http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/racquette/nessmukbydale.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sears

If you plan on using the knife for making wood shavings, one thing I've found is that I've had to adjust my sharpening process of my Bucks to be better at that. I've never used a Mora and haven't experienced using a Scandi ground knife for wood working. But, I do use convex ground Opinels and find them much better for shaving and cutting wood than any hollow ground knife that I own (several Bucks and a Case).

Dave (aka Obsessed with Edges from the Trad forum) gave me a great tip for sharpening a hollow ground knife for better wood cutting performance. A) I use a primary bevel of 20 degree with a secondary bevel of 17. B) I lay the blade flat on wet/dry paper and use edge trailing strokes to round off the shoulder of the bevels. This forms a crude but repeatable quasi-convex profile and noticeably decreases the drag of the knife when cutting wood. I can tell a huge difference.

Lastly, if you are used to sharpening carbon steel, you may find that Buck's 420HC takes a bit longer to sharpen and that it holds a burr just a teeny bit longer. It's still easy to sharpen and is nowhere near as hard to bring to a burr as 440C and it deburrs (for me) much better than some cheaper stainless steels. I really like it.

Hope some of this helps.
 
I really like the 103. It has roots from the Hudson Bay Green River pattern. If yours is a early model 60's-70's those are convexed and of 440C steel. Bush crafters must have different desires than what skinners of today want. Still, the model is strong and capable and will prove a useful tool. DM
 
Its a current era model, I'm sure it was ordered off of Amazon or something within the last month or two tops.

Thanks for the information, I really like the size and shape - not big on the handle materials(feels like it could get slippery when wet but its a great looking knife.
 
Should the handle need some grip, you could use tape or lightly sand it with fine sandpaper. DM
 
I bought an old 1960's model years ago at an auction for about $7.50. It has been at deer camp and been used on over 100 deer since. It will definitely outlive everyone at our deer camp.
 
The 103 is a great knife.Lol,I got carried away bidding on this one and paid WAY to much for it.:eek::)
 
Did you get that one from the Las Crues show when you came to help me? DM
 
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I have hunted with a 103 in car or pack for 25+ years. It has helped process 25 or more deer/elk. Over time it received less use as I favored a Buck Vanguard given to me and a cheap eskimo ulu like thin bladed, rubber handled skinner. My preferred method is to just pick out another skinning knife from my pack, rather than stop and sharpen. Usually, you are trying to hurry for some reason. The thick 440c blade on mine calls for careful sharpening. As stated, carefully sharpened, they should last several lifetimes........300Bucks
 
I'm pathetic----haven't been on this site for months and when I saw 103--I knew exactly which model was being discussed

I picked one up for a song on K mart clearance in the 80's and its rarely been used.
 
I bought one in 1992, but have never really used it. I recently took it out of storage. I was wondering, what sort of steel would they have been using 20 years ago? The same 420HC they are apparently using now?

Actually, mine says:

BUCK
103+
USA

What does the + indicate?

Thanks.
 
Kap, NO, your 103 has 425M steel and is a 1991 model hence the +. Its a date code, check the top of this Buck index page and you'll find the year date codes. Buck used 425M steel from 1981 to 1991 then switched to 420HC in 1992. DM
 
David Martin said:
Kap, NO, your 103 has 425M steel and is a 1991 model hence the +. Its a date code, check the top of this Buck index page and you'll find the year date codes. Buck used 425M steel from 1981 to 1991 then switched to 420HC in 1992. DM
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I suppose I bought old stock back in '92.
 
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